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How much to Feed

When feeding raw it is generally recommended that you aim to feed 2-3% of the animal's idea body weight, spread over two meals per day. A simple method of calculating 2% is to take the animal's ideal weight (for example, 20kg), add a zero to this figure (= 200) and feed this amount in grams per meal.

Puppies should generally be fed to appetite from around 4-6 weeks until around 3-4 months of age, when you should be feeding 5-6% of the animal's ideal body weight for their age, spread over four meals per day, reducing to two meals as they reach 6 months of age. As the dog approaches maturity, start reducing the total daily amount to 2-3%, but still keep a careful eye on their weight and reduce or increase the portion size as required. Remember - there are no hard and fast rules for feeding - every animal has a different metabolism and nutritional requirements, so feeding should be tailored to suit your pet.

If your dog needs to put on weight or has higher nutritional needs, you can increase always this figure over a period of time until the optimum weight is achieved. Alternatively, you may wish to simply feed a food with a higher percentage of fat.

If the animal needs to lose weight, reduce the amount fed per day, or chose a lower fat product.

If you have any questions or concerns about how much your pet needs, or wish to discuss your pet's particular dietary needs please feel free to contact us.

Getting Started

Popular Myths About Feeding Raw

DOGS HAVE BEEN DOMESTICATED SO LONG THAT THEY HAVE ADAPTED TO COOKED DIETS.

This is false! Yes, dogs were domesticated from wolves thousands of years ago, and then selectively bred by humans for desired sizes, shapes, and characteristics. However, they have NOT adapted to a cooked food diet, as evidenced by the millions of pets sitting in the waiting rooms of veterinary clinics with periodontal disease, skin diseases, cancers, organ diseases, diabetes, obesity—diseases that have strong connections to cooked and processed foods. No, a cooked diet has not been kind to our animals.

Kibble foods (which are cooked and highly processed) have only been around for the last 100 years. Evolutionary adaptations require much more time than this.

BONES ARE DANGEROUS AND HAVE NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE.

Cooked bones are quite dangerous. Cooking changes the structure of the bone, making it indigestible and easy to splinter. Raw bones rarely splinter and are fully digestible, even the collagen proteins that some people claim are "indigestible." It is mostly the by-products of the digested bone that form the bulk of a raw-fed animal's faeces.

THE BACTERIA IN RAW MEAT WILL HURT YOUR DOG.

Yes, the bacteria in raw meat might hurt your dog IF the dog already has an immunocompromised system or some underlying problem. Raw diets have also been blamed for causing things like pancreatitis and kidney disease, when in reality the underlying disease was already there and was brought to light by the change in diet. Dogs are surprisingly well-equipped to deal with bacteria. Their saliva has antibacterial properties; it contains lysozyme, an enzyme that lyses and destroys harmful bacteria. Their short digestive tract is designed to push through food and bacteria quickly without giving bacteria time to colonize. The extremely acidic environment in the gut is also a good bacteria colonization deterrent. People often point to the fact that dogs shed salmonella in their faeces (even kibble-fed dogs do this) without showing any ill effects as proof that the dog is infected with salmonella. In reality, all this proves is that the dog has effectively passed the salmonella through its system with no problems. Yes, the dog can act as a salmonella carrier, but the solution is simple—do not eat dog crap and wash your hands after picking up after your dog.

RAW MEAT WILL MAKE MY DOG BLOODTHIRSTY.

By nature the dog is a carnivorous predator. A dog that chases things (with or without killing them) is just being true to what it is: a dog. Feeding a dog meat is not going to turn a dog into some vicious animal that will attack every living thing that moves.

Testimonials

"My two Boxer dogs have been eating Nutriment for just over 2 months and are flourishing. Their coats are shiny and the shedding has disappeared and more importantly they love it! One of my dogs has been diagnosed with mast cell cancer and research recommended a more natural way of feeding ie a homemade diet including high percentages of protein and minimal carbs with no grains. Nutriment meets this criteria and for a very reasonable price and I can rest assured that my dogs are getting a nutritious diet which is made from human grade ingredients."

Helen - Medway

"My dog is a two year old German Spitz Klein and enjoys the Nutriment diet. I cannot stress how fabulous this food is, it promotes good teeth, fantastic coat and general well-being. I am a vegetarian and originally she was on a well known dry food as a youngster but I decided to transfer onto the raw diet when she was nearly a year old as she was becoming fussy and it looked, well just so BORING and DRY and un-natural! What a change ... ! She wolfs her food down with a clean bowl every time.

She was spayed at 18 months and her coat altering was a big concern of mine, being a spitz she has a wonderful full and shiny coat, but I cannot tell the difference since her spay and I swear this is down to her diet on Nutriment.

She also has beef jerky sticks cut up for training. These are great and nutritious and 100% beef.

I am a complete convert. I would never go back to dry commercial food ever again."

Sam - St.Mary's Island

"Our dog is doing great, I'll have to get you a picture of him soon. His coat has always been soft and nice but the biggest change I've noticed is at the back-end as it's 110% better now! Much nicer to walk (for picking up) and never runny after car rides anymore! It's hard now which means he's not suffering as before we were concerned due his back end appearing to be quite red and he had other signs that his glands needed expressing; since the switch to Nutriment it's cleared up and no more redness or any signs of issues."